For those with iMac as main...iPad or rMB for 2nd?

[thirteenth]

For those of you who use the Imac as your main computer, did you pick up an ipad or rmb/mba to use as your second device? i recently purchase an ipad pro haven't had the chance to open it yet and started to second guess myself in whether it would be more enjoyable to spend a couple hundred more and get the rmb instead
thanks.

 

[driftless]

I have both the rMB and iPad. I have gone back to using my iPad as my mobile device. Different apps and different OS' but I don't have the need for my iMac and mobile device to replicate each other.

 

[ryanide]

For me the new 12" MB is the ideal everyday computer for email & web and basic computing. The instant on feature is incredibly fast. For me, the iPad does not allow me the type of full functionality that I need (for file management/programs/etc) that the Mac OS offers.

I previously used a rMBP as my main computer for on the go and at home, but mostly it is permanently stationed on my desk with a 27" monitor - Soon to be replaced with a faster iMac. The 12"MB is probably the best computer I've ever owned and it is slimmer and more powerful than an iPad with a bluetooth keyboard case. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPad, but I use it mainly for reading in bed.

 

[ryannel2003]

I have the iMac + iPad Mini combo and I love it. I do all the heavy lifting on the iMac (which isn't that heavy, granted) and when I'm ready for bed I use the iPad to browse the net and check out Facebook and whatnot.

 

[e93to]

It depends on your needs. If you don't need to run professional softwares, then iPad Pro "can" be fine. But on certain occasions when you need power and capability (trackpad, file system, etc), iPad Pro is not really a good device.

 

[MadDane]

I use a 27" iMac as my main computer. Being an master engineering student I also need some power on the go, and mobile apps simply do not cut it. I need the full versions. So I also have a 13" rMBP. In addition to that I also have an iPad Air 2, but I use it purely for consumption.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Completely depends on your needs. For me, iPad is all the "laptop" that I need.

I retired my PowerBook G4 in 2010, a few months after I got my first-generation iPad. I've felt no need to get another laptop. At this point, I am ready to replace the old iPad with an iPad Pro - it's time to move beyond iOS 5.1.1 and fully re-integrate with iCloud (specifically Photo Library, current versions of Pages and Numbers, and the enhanced Notes app). Oh, and Touch ID, a bit of Siri in the night...

One of the biggest benefits of the switch to iPad was the weight (and size). I never carried that PowerBook everywhere I went, but the iPad usually did (granted, the larger iPhone 6 display coupled with old-and-slow on the iPad meant iPad hasn't been traveling as much as it used to). So when I was in the mood to write in serious amounts, I was almost always in a position to do so. No way I would bring a laptop to the local watering hole, solo dinners out, or even a weekend visiting friends up in the mountains, but the iPad... It's also my music-and-lyrics fake book (fits in my guitar case).

Overall, even though I can do all these things with a laptop, for me a laptop screams "work," the iPad does not, and that's been good for my creativity. And even when work has been on the agenda... I'm much happier carrying an iPad around a trade show floor, shlepping it to meetings, etc.

As some of us say in photography (re iPhone)... the best camera is the one you have with you.

 

[dingster1]

iPad here, but about to add an Air...

 

[maflynn]

I have a Surface Pro 3 for my mobility needs, I rarely use my old iPad, it just sits there collecting dust at this point

 

[Copperjohn]

iMac plus iPad works for me. But as others have said this really is based on your needs. For me I do not need produce or edit content when outside my home. I strictly need t a device to watch content, connect to the net with minimal need to write or edit documents, photos or music. If I had to do a lot of these activities outside of my home, I would lean to a laptop for my mobile device.

 

[vikaplume]

It really depends on what you will use it for.

I have a windows PC as a main computer and both an iPad (both a brand new mini and full size iPad 4, both cellular versions) and a macbook air. The iPad is fine for a mobile device if you mostly just want to browse the web, watch videos, play iPhone type game on a big screen and send/receive emails. However, if you actually need to be productive out of the home, while possible on an iPad, it is much easier on a macbook. I used only the iPad 4 as my mobile device from the time it came out until September of this year when it started to get really slow, so I bought the macbook air. I ended up getting a new iPad mini too. Having both, I find now that if I am not in my office, I am more likely to reach for the laptop. It is just easier to use and I can have multiple things on the go, unlike on an iPad. I mostly end up using my iPad for netflix and games, and surfing the web on the go (while sitting on the train everyday).

The MacBooks don't have cellular, which gives a cellular iPad an advantage. It is very convenient to be anywhere and still be connected and have a screen large enough to actually be able to see. But the iPad is limited in that it is more an entertainment device. If I didn't have to sit on a train everyday for two hours (of if I had an iPhone 6+), I would never use my iPad. Of course you can tether your phone to your laptop, but on a crowded train setting that up is a bit of a juggling act. I bought the mini so that I could cary both it and the macbook, because now that I have the laptop, I wouldn't want to go back to iPad only as a mobile device. It is just way more hassle to type out and edit a document, do compose longer emails, and on iPad it is difficult to Skype and have a file open (for example if they send you a photo and you open it, on an iPad you will still hear them, but not see them, but on a mac, a little bow with their face follows you to others applications).

 

[xmichaelp]

rMB.

iPad as a third if you must. Tablets are still pretty nice for video in bed.